"We are creating a completely imaginary, full world all based on the Slinky," says Vera-Villanueva, who adds that two studios are interested in distributing his film, to be finished in 2005 for the 60th anniversary of Slinky's introduction. "It's a bunch of characters, some of them new, such as the Slinky scarecrow and the Slinky robot, some based on the property known as the Slinky Pets.

"The main character is a big Indiana Jones-type Slinky," says Vera-Villanueva, whose idol is director Tim Burton. "This character is on an adventurous quest, but it's a character-driven film, like Ice Age."

But how do you make a toy that is basically just a long coil wire into a full-length movie? "We're using bigger Slinkys, small Slinkys," he says. "The coil is not going to be in the same place in all the animals." But even with the changes, he assures us, everyone will know it's Slinky.